The investigation of structure and mechanical properties Dissimilar joining of aluminum 5052 sheet to titanium alloy by friction stir welding

Friction stir welding (FSW) has many advantages in welding dissimilar joints in comparison with fusion welding methods. In this study, weld ability of butt joint of 5052 aluminum alloy and Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy by FSW process has been studied and discussed. The welding was successfully performed by using a tool with frustum pin. The influences of both rotational and traverse speed of welding tool on mechanical properties are investigated. The results show that the metallurgical and mechanical properties improve by choosing appropriate parameters. The highest tensile strength of 260 MPa was obtained at rotational speed of 500 rpm and a 40 mm/min traverse speed, which was ~ 94% of the aluminum base metal tensile strength. As a result of increasing the rotational speed from 500 to 1000 rpm, high heat input can forms cracks at joint area. In rotational speed of 1000 rpm, increasing traverse speed from 40 to 56 mm/min leads to a sound joint with 192 MPa of tensile strength. This decreasing in tensile strength can be related to the formation of intermetallic compounds such as TiAl3, along the entire interface between the two alloys